GROCERY SHOPPERS!
PREPARE, TECH SHOPPING IS IN THE AIR!
Imagine a new technologically advanced Supermarket that takes into account cloud computing, apps and the like; what does it look like?
Well, if you walk into some of the larger chains of supermarkets like Giant and Stop & Shop, you will see the modern use of gadgets in supermarkets to help speed the process and the money out of our pockets.
In certain stores in the UK, companies have adapted the idea of cloud receipts. This concept is definitely not new in other aspects of our lives but it would be in terms of grocery shopping.
Cloud receipts would offer both consumers and the environment additional benefits where consumers can easily budget their expenses on groceries as well as easily incorporate any dietary changes. In terms of the environment, the benefit is obvious in eliminating at least 100,000 rolls of receipt paper each year, according to the Smithsonian magazine.
Other tech savvy benefits that we will start to see more and more in our supermarkets are Scanning devices that look like mini-remote controls, for consumers to scan products as they shop, keep their purchase total purchase amount in mind, and ultimately speeding up the checkout process.
Now scanner and barcode readers are not new; however, large chains of supermarkets are trying to incorporate apps that we can download on smartphones that use the same concept but focus on consumers dishing out more money because of the coupons that flash on the device to increase/play on our impulse buying decisions.
Another cool device that will become more commonplace is the Object Recognition Scanner. This scanner can detect the difference between difference types of produce, packaged and prepackaged items as well, essentially eliminating the need for barcodes altogether.
These inventions may feel slightly farfetched but they are not so far off as seen with the use of infrared cameras, usually used by the military and police but, “the cameras work with in-house-developed software that records supermarket traffic at different times of day, allowing managers to know how many lanes need to be open and when to open them. Currently in use at some 2,400 stores, the average customer wait time has been reduced from 4 minutes to 26 seconds,” according to the Smithsonian magazine.
Thus, technology in the supermarket realm is definitely an added benefit and can only improve our experience; however what does that say for the thousands of cashiers employed by supermarket stores. Will the need for cashiers eventually become obsolete as we’ve seen throughout history with the advancement of technology?
